Willis Towers Watson Names Global OCIO Chief

kemp ross willis towers watson ocio Willis Towers Watson has hired Kemp Ross to lead its $75 billion global outsourced-CIO (OCIO) business.

He joins from Aon Hewitt where he was head of solutions and operations for investment. Prior to joining in 2008, he worked at Mercer for 15 years.

In his new role, Ross will remain in Chicago and report to Global Head of Investments Chris Ford. In a statement, Ford praised Ross’ “proven business and leadership experience as well as strong investment experience.”

“Pension plans and other institutional investors around the world, of all sizes, continue to believe that the best way to achieve their investment objectives in the current environment is to outsource,” Ford said.

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Ross added that “the trend towards outsourcing is clear, as investors try to match their investment ambition with the right level and quality of resources.”

A qualified actuary, Ross has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University and a master’s degree in Applied Statistics from North Carolina State University.

The merger of Willis Group and Towers Watson was completed at the start of this year despite vocal opposition from shareholders including BlackRock and Driehaus Capital.

The post-referendum political fallout continued over the weekend as the UK’s pensions minister quit her post after just over a year.

Ros Altmann wrote to new Prime Minister Theresa May on July 15 to inform her of the decision. The previous day, May had appointed Damian Green as minister for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which oversees welfare policy.

“The time is right to properly consider the issues facing employers trying to support DB pension schemes and potential use of pension assets to boost economic growth.”“As a minister, I have tried to drive positive long-term changes on pensions from within government and ameliorate some of the past mistakes which I have cautioned against,” Altmann wrote. “Unfortunately over the past year, short-term political considerations, exacerbated by the EU referendum, have inhibited good policymaking. As the country heads into uncharted waters, I would urge you and your new team to enable my successor to address some of the major policy reforms that are needed to improve pensions for the future.”

Altmann called for the government to “urgently assess the future” of defined benefit (DB) pensions.

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“Given the risks of diverting corporate resources to one favored group of workers [and] the need to ensure adequate resources for younger generations’ pensions, the time is right to properly consider the issues facing employers trying to support DB pension schemes and potential use of pension assets to boost economic growth,” the outgoing minister wrote.

Altmann was appointed pensions minister in May 2015 following the Conservative Party’s general election victory. She is a member of the House of Lords, the UK’s upper house, rather than an elected member of parliament—“I am at heart a policy expert, rather than a politician,” she wrote.

Richard Harrington has been appointed as Altmann’s successor. However, his official title is “parliamentary under-secretary,” a more junior position than Altmann’s “minister of state.” A spokesperson for the DWP told CIO Harrington’s brief would be the same, and he would still be referred to as the pensions minister.

In addition to the roles for Harrington and Green, Philip Hammond was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, replacing George Osborne.